If this is your first visit, be sure to
check out the FAQ by clicking the
link above. You may have to register
before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages,
select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

so how far can you drive

I've had a 2007 prius for 3

I've had a 2007 prius for 3 years. We have had chronic problems with the 12 volt battery. At first it would run down after not being driven for 10 days when we were out of town. I was told this is normal by the dealer & to use a maintainer. Over 2 three-day holiday weekends in a row, it was dead as well. Now after a 2-day weekend it's dead again. Again my dealer says this is normal if it's left undriven for 2 days & the smart key function is left on. The manual doesn't give a length of time the battery should hold charge, but I think this is ridiculous. Other owners I've talked to haven't had this problem even after it's been sitting a week or more. Is anyone else experiencing similar problems?

I think your dealer is lying

I think your dealer is lying to you. I have never turned my "smart key" function off. And I have parked in airport parking lots for up to 9 days. When I get in, the 12v battery is still showing full charge, and the car starts up perfectly normally.

One of two problems- you have a "phantom load", something is drawing substantial power (that is supposed to be shut off).

OR you have a bad battery (12v) that needs replacing.

Start with the easy to find problem- have the 12v battery LOAD TESTED. Don't let somebody just check the voltage, the condition of a battery can ONLY be tested under load.

If there's nothing wrong with the battery, start looking around for something that might be drawing power from the car's battery when it's shut off.

hi, i am new here, and

hi, i am new here, and enjoying this site,
nice, i get a lot info about battery,
just wanted to say hello and will be looking forward to seeing what I can learn here,
have a nice day you all.http://www.pakhot.com

Hi Shanzaymalik, welcome to

One important thing to remember about the Prius 12v battery is that UNLIKE every other car made, the Prius 12v battery DOES NOT start the car's engine.

The big 200v propulsion battery is the engine starter battery.

On every normal car, the 12v battery gets a quick load test every time we hit the starter. When the battery gets old, sooner or later we notice that the engine is cranking slower, and s l o w e r, and s...l...o...w...e...r.

But with the Prius, the 12v battery ONLY has to boot the computers and bring the 200v battery on line. So the 12v battery can get REALLY weak before we notice something is wrong.

With the Prius, you REALLY need to keep track of the 12v battery health BEFORE problems start cropping up.

I have the same issue right

I have the same issue right now with my 2005 Prius. What a pain to get tot the battery to jump it. The hatch will not open with no power so I had to climb through the back seats to get to the rear battery. Really bad design.

Eric,
I live in the SF Bay

Eric,
I live in the SF Bay area and I have just been told that I need to spend $3400 to replace my battery on my 2001 Prius or spend $1800 on fixing a bad cell at the Toyota dealership. Can you point me to someplace that would charge a lot less? Thanks.

I had the hybrid battery

I had the hybrid battery replaced on my 2001 Prius. The dealer, Vallejo, CA. Toyota, replaced the old battery with a new one along with the catalytic converer, for a total cost of $4600. The dealer did not tell me what generation battery I got and they told me that my warranty was for a year (! instead of 100,000 miles) and now my Prius gets 42.1 or 42.2 mpg, never the 50 or 40mpg that I used to get with the old battery. Should I have gotten a better warranty? When I told them that my battery does not get the mileage that I got with the old battery and that my driving habits have not changed, they said that it shows the mileage according to how I drive. I am thinking of asking them to check the new battery. Should I ask them to check the vehicle charging control system? Is there anything else that I can ask them? If I continue to unhappy with this, I am going to complain Toyota Headquarters in Los Angeles. Anyone tell me what you think. Thanks

I came to this site because

I came to this site because my sis-in-law offered to sell us her 2008 pkg 6 (nav and reverse view kit) 40K mile California good condition Prius for $13.5K. Ive been a SUV and Corvette owner my whole 50 year life, other than my nice Honda motorcycle. So Im doing my homework to see if this opportunity is really worth it or not. Im also an electrical engineer who understands power and micro-electronics, so Im not frightened by these power issues. I think anyone that has owned even just a battery powered laptop should understand that batteries have a lifespan that part of the owners cost equation and whos lifespan is dependant upon many factors, including charging and discharging, useage and environmentals... and of course good ole Murphy's Law.

So OK, Im willing to consider less acceleration and braking power compared to my trusty GM V8 products in place with less costs at the pump. Most of our driving is soccer mom style driving with the weekend warrior LA freeway driving and occasional local vacation getaways. Is this Prius car for us?

Having just had to deal with the GMC and 3rd party subsequent &gt;80K warrantee on my SUV, and seeing how they wiggled out of paying for repair bills with their T&Cs in their contract, Im very concerned with the warrantee now.

It appears that to own a hybrid, one now has to be very aware of their driving habits (more micromanagement in our lives, great) and always concerned about battery care. It also seems that now we have to look at the life of the battery as a major consideration in buying a used hybrid. How does one test the condition of the battery from a lifespan perspective, just the miles? And what of the warrantee on the battery, is the replacement costs pro-rated or does the dealer warrantee cover the whole thing? What happens to the warrantee when buying from a private seller? What are the conditions on the warrantee that have to be met so that all the electrical components of this vehicle are covered?

Off hand, it appears that its wise to unload these hybrids somewhere between 1/2 to 3/4 of their warrantee life if they are expecting Kelly BB value prices. Am I right? Like, who would want to buy these at 75K miles for say $11-15K if they are also possibly facing an additional $4-5K battery replacement. How would one recapture this cost when its time to sell it again? For all the gains of a hybrid car, it appears they are becoming disposable and shorter lifespan vehicles when compared to 200K mile plus combustion only vehicles. The $4k battery replacement cost becomes the grim reaper of every aging and resold hybrid. This is a whole new concept Im getting my mind wrapped around when considering my first hybrid as an used car.

Has anyone done any cost of ownership cost analysis for a Prius versus say a comparable sized gas-only vehicle over 3, 5, 8 years (or over 50, 80, 120K miles)?